KATIE Coutts, 48, pled guilty to the benefits scam - but in an unforeseen turn of events the prosecutor was unable to relate the full details of the charge and the case was postponed.

A NEWSPAPER psychic was caught carrying out an £11,000 benefit swindle, a court heard yesterday.

Katie Coutts, the Scottish Sun’s psychic columnist for 16 years, is accused of claiming benefits while raking in thousands of pounds from events across Scotland.

Coutts, 48, had entered a guilty plea to the charge, which alleged the fraud continued for 18 months.

But events took an unforeseen turn in court when prosecutor Lauri Mitchell was unable to relate the full details of the charge – what Coutts allegedly earned and when.

As a result, Coutts, whose byline was The Eyes of Katie Coutts and who uses the same tagline for her website, had her plea withdrawn.

The case was postponed without plea at Cupar Sheriff Court to allow the Crown to investigate the charge fully.

The charge relates to council tax and housing benefit totalling £10,768.27.

Coutts – who is also a paranormal author and described as a “renowned psychic and ghostbuster” - had faced a jail term of up to a year.

A court source said: “This came totally out of the blue. No one was expecting it. She had admitted the charges and normally the Crown would describe the evidence against her and the case would proceed from there.

Torrance

Coutts

“Coutts was to be sentenced today and the maximum penalty was a year in jail.

“It is rare for someone’s plea to be withdrawn at this stage, especially when they’ve had legal advice to plead guilty.”

Before the case was halted, prosecutor Mitchell told the court: “She made an application for the benefits in October 2010.

“She indicated she was not currently working.

“Information was later received that she had been arranging for a number of psychic events to be staged around Scotland during the time she had been claiming benefit.”

The court heard the events catered for up to 400 people – raking in thousands in ticket sales.

But Mitchell was unable to give the court exact details of what Coutts, from Wormit, Fife, had earned and when.

Column as seen in The Sun

After an hour-long adjournment, she asked that the guilty plea be withdrawn. The case was continued until next month.

Douglas Williams, defending, said: “The Crown is in a position that they can’t bring a narrative that would allow the court to sentence on that basis.

“I accept these are fairly exceptional circumstances but this is the best way forward.”

Coutts, who left The Sun in 2010, made no comment as she left court.

On her website, Coutts says she has “a very special gift” which was spotted by her gran when she was just six years old.